Dantalion of the Goetia: Taste the Obsession of a Demon

The sound of leaves swirled along the brick leading me toward Sterling Memorial Library. I've studied everything from Celtic and Welsh Myth, to Arabic Mythology and the Salem witch trials of 1692. How ironic that society still honors a Pagan holiday like All Hallows Eve. The Celts believed this was the only time of the year that the outer boundary between men and the souls of the dead could cross between the two worlds. They lit bonfires to honor the dead and to guide them in their journey.

Religious Studies at Yale was my Major, but all the myths were my passion. My fixation on the occult had me most recently, interested in "demonology."

I found my way inside the library and searched for a quiet place to sit. There was a small table up against the window and surrounding it, walls of books formed a private cubby around me. Rich crown moldings complimented the hanging light fixtures and I felt like I belonged in another time when I came here. For one of my class assignments I decided to hold a ceremony honoring `Samhain. Since it wasn't considered a "traditional student activity," there was a lot of controversy as to my holding a Pagan ceremony within the center of Old Campus. I decided to hold it off campus at the courtyard across the street from where I live.

One of the main reasons I moved to New Haven, Connecticut was that my rental house was less than ten minutes from downtown Yale, New Haven. The old Victorian was directly across the street from the other reason I moved here. The Courtyard.

It was called the "Courtyard of the Undead" by the locals and said to be cursed by the undead. They were not just regular spirits, but said to be those who were stripped of their immortality and transformed into demons. They say each demon condemned was branded with a seal. I never knew any of this by just looking at the Courtyard.

I gathered my things up from Sterling Memorial Library, making my way over to Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. I knew they had The Lesser Key of Solomon there. The first section is what I was after. It was a book of grimoire called the Ars Goetia by Aleister Crowley. It contained descriptions of seventy-two demons evoked by King Solomon. I hoped to find out more about the demon I saw in my nightmares.

Upon entering, the first thing I noticed was the entire center of the library from the ground to the very top floors encased in glass material, specially created to preserve the millions of rare manuscripts and books. Rows upon rows of centuries old secrets kept guarded and contained, under precise temperature and lighting.